IoT 201: Building skills in IoT development

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In the previous learning path, IoT 101: Getting started with IoT development, you got an
overview of the concepts and skills that IoT developers need. In this IoT
201 learning path, you'll dig deeper into the skills you need to develop
innovative IoT solutions.

In this IoT 201 learning path, you're first introduced to some of the key
tools and technologies for large-scale IoT development. Next, you'll
explore IoT developer kits and IoT architectures. Then, you discover
lessons learned in developing connected cities, an ultimate large-scale
IoT project. Finally, this IoT 201 learning path culminates in a
video-based tutorial where you get to build your next IoT project —
a healthy habits tracker.

1

Discover the next layer of detail in IoT
development

With IoT sensors becoming ubiquitous in everyday life, IoT developers need
to hone their skills for developing large-scale, complex IoT solutions. As
you work to make your devices smarter, you need to work smarter by using
the best tools, technologies, and systems. Learn about these tools,
technologies, and systems in this article.

“To be a part of this technological revolution, you’ll need
to explore the architectures, designs, and development best practices
of more complex IoT solutions.”

Speed up your IoT development by using IoT
developer kits

To jump start your IoT development, you need to use an IoT developer kit.
Many IoT devices are custom-built after prototyping with microcontrollers
(like ESP8266s) or single-board computers (like Raspberry Pi). In this
article, explore some of the popular developer kits that show the variety
of capabilities available in the kits.

“Developer kits bundle a microcontroller or single-board
computer and compatible components that you can use to prototype your
IoT devices. IoT developer kits often include components such as
breadboards, jumper wires, expansion boards, power supplies,
batteries, sensors, and actuators. These IoT developer kits, however,
are more than just an assortment of hardware components – these kits
also provide development resources, sample projects, tools, and
services to support developing applications using the
hardware.”

Planning and outlining IoT architectures will help you manage the
complexity of IoT solutions. Be sure to succeed by reading this article
that considers all the layers in an IoT architecture, designing for
automation and interoperability, and the value of standard IoT reference
architectures.

“An architecture describes the structure of your IoT
solution, including the physical aspects (that is, the things) and the
virtual aspects (like services and communication protocols). Adopting
a multi-tiered architecture allows you to focus on improving your
understanding about how all of the most important aspects of the
architecture operate independently before you integrate them within
your IoT application. This modular approach helps to manage the
complexity of IoT solutions.”

Explore a large-scale IoT solution, connected
cities.

As you expand your IoT development into real world scenarios, you'll
quickly learn about the challenges you face in connecting people,
services, and infrastructure. In this article, you'll learn how IoT
developers must work with older, existing technology along side of the
newer technology.

“Many cities and towns around the world are turning to IoT
to solve urban problems, such as traffic congestion, and to improve
the safety and quality-of-life of their citizens. Smart sensors that
are installed throughout the city, in vehicles and buildings, and apps
and devices that are used by people who are living or working in the
city produce data that is used throughout these connected cities. The
IoT data is used to inform decisions on how public spaces are
designed, how to make the best use of resources, and how to deliver
public services and utilities more efficiently and effectively.
”

Learn about the challenges of developing large-scale IoT solutions in this
article:

Build your skills in IoT development

Now that you've expanded your knowledge of the complexities of IoT
development, you're ready to build your skills with this video-based
tutorial. Build a healthy habits tracker system, by using an AdaFruit
Feather Huzzah IoT developer kit, Python, Java, MQTT, and IBM Watson IoT
Platform. You'll learn how to assemble the device, prepare the
microcontroller, connect the device to the IoT platform, and run the
Java-based cloud application.

Next steps

Still want more? In the IoT 301 learning path, we'll
tackle IoT security challenges, IoT device management, and IoT analytics.
And, we'll be extending the healthy habits tracker app that you built in
this learning path. Until then, explore some of the content in the related
topics.